100 times. A teenager checks their social media on average 100 times a day.
A study from CNN revealed the top reasons why teens go online. Over half of teens frequently check to see if their post is getting likes or comments. A third of teens want to know what their friends were up to when they weren't around. And 21% were checking to make sure no one was bashing them online.
It is no surprise the fixation with social media has resulted in a variety of problems for teens, starting with heightened anxiety and insecurities. Teenagers commonly compare themselves to what they find on social media, like photographs of models or celebrities. According to several studies done by the American Psychological Association, insecurities are commonly related to exposure to images that depict a specific body type as ideal.
Some teens are even guilty of looking to social media for validation and often base their self-worth on the number of "likes" they get on each post.
Michelle Linker told the Guardian, "I do feel a pressure to look particularly good. I feel anxiety over how many likes I get after I post a picture. If I get two likes, I feel like, what's wrong with me?"
Social media has greatly impacted the way teens see themselves when they feel they don't measure up to the unrealistic images in front of them. Additionally, these platforms allow people to create and display a specific version of themselves as the way they want to be seen.
Instagram famous, Essena O'neill, decided to delete the social media platform after concluding it was "contrived perfection made to get attention." Before quitting the platform, she went back through her posts and revised the captions to unveil the reality behind each photograph.
Teens aren't the only ones consumed by social media. The average user checks their phone around 150 times a day. With an unhealthy obsession for social media only on the rise, it is hard to turn off this false reality. What will happen to us if we never virtually unplug?
